Man Accidentally Kills Himself After Sending Friend a Photo of Live Grenade

A 26-year-old man died after a grenade he was handling exploded. Alexander “Sasha” Chechik had removed the pin from a grenade and posed for several photos with it, which he messaged to friends. The last image, likely sent mere moments before the weapon detonated, showed the live grenade in his hand. When it went off, Chechik was killed instantly.

Chechik, a Russian man, was not believed to have intentionally taken his own life at the time of the incident, which took place in the city of Labinsk in the southwest region of Russia, and the messages accompanying the photos he sent to friends appear to support that claim.

During one messaging exchange, a friend of Chechik’s asked,” Where are you? Are you OK?”

Chechik replied, “Depends on what OK is in your understanding?” He followed that message up with a photo of the grenade in his hand, without the pin in place.

His friend then said, “Listen, don’t f**k around,” and quickly followed it up with, “Where are you?” That was the last message that friend appeared to receive from Chechik.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Russian law enforcement believes Chechik didn’t think the grenade would explode in his hand, regardless of if the pin was removed, as he may have thought it had to be thrown in order to detonate.

According to reports, the police have not classified the death a suicide, but as an accident, based on the photos Checkik sent his friend prior to the grenade exploding.

A source, who spoke with a local news agency, stated, “Apparently the guy did not manage to insert [the hand grenade pin] back in. The explosion broke him in half.”

Natalia Smyatskaya, a Russian official, did state that the Russian Investigative Committee is still looking into the incident, as authorities have launched an investigation into the illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition through the area.